North State Journal reporter running PR for DPI’s Truitt?
THAT is what it looks like. When Pat McCrory ran for governor in 2012, some Republicans got together to form a newspaper that would give a voice to newly-empowered Republicans and, perhaps, EVEN conservatives. A lot of grassroots types bought into the NSJ’s pitch.
As readers of this site and other long-time observers of politics know, Republican does not always mean CONSERVATIVE. We’ve all held our noses and voted for the likes of people such as McCrory, Thom Tillis, Richard Burr, AND Catherine Truitt.
Truitt first came to Raleigh and state politics via Gov. Pat McCrory, who appointed her his senior education advisor. No one seriously considers McCrory a conservative. Going back to his days as mayor of Charlotte, McCrory has warred against conservatives and mocked conservative ideals — doing things like campaigning with liberals to raise taxes in Charlotte.
So, it’s safe to assume that anyone emerging from McCrory’s fold is not a conservative. Halfway through her term at the Department of Public Instruction, Truitt has made it clear she stands with the education establishment — elevating career hacks, spending more money, and continuing failed leftist policies. She deserves plenty of criticism from the right.
Let’s pause here and shift to take a look at one Andrea P. (A.P.) Dillon,
a reporter at The North State Journal. I’ve known of Dillon since her days as a blogger known as “Lady Liberty.” She’s clearly been most passionate about education policy. Dillon will lash out at ANYONE else, even those on the right, who dares to speak about education without first obtaining her permission.
Anyone who follows her work can see that Dillon is a HUGE fan of Catherine Truitt.
Triangle-based conservative activist (and M.D.) Nancy Anderson is a frequent contributor to the renowned and respected national conservative website American Thinker. In August of this year, Anderson wrote a piece for the AT which was critical of Truitt. That apparently sent Dillon over the edge:
This email was fired off to the editor of The American Thinker. Dillon appears to be acting as an advocate for Ms. Truitt — as though she is the superintendent’s communications director or press secretary.
We, on the right, spend a lot of time bashing the drive-bys for not being fair and objective. How can we let this stand: a supposedly fair and balanced conservative paper running interference and damage-control for a favored politician?
The Daily Haymaker is all about commentary. It says so in our masthead. Dear sweet Andrea is calling herself a “reporter” and the publication which employs her is portraying itself as an honest-to-God “newspaper.”
How can we trust anything SHE or the NSJ writes from here forward about Catherine Truitt? (There’s clearly a desire to cheerlead for Truitt in the NSJ newsroom.)
Dillon is so worried about AT readers being “mislead.” How about some concern for NSJ readers being misled by her reporting / cheerleading on behalf of Catherine Truitt?
We on the right side would be throwing a huge fit if an N&O reporter was caught doing blatant PR work, while on-duty and using their work e-mail account, for Josh Stein or Elaine Marshall.
Simply stunning that Dillon, who got her start as an ardent opponent of McCrory/Chamber Common Core, has morphed into one big Establishment shill. Proof: This ‘crusader for education’ and her rag had/has simply zero interest in looking into ECU gender affirming care butchery department (of course no GOP pol did either but I digress…). She is the physical case study for the rot that infects the so-called Right in this state, a defender of nothing, an appeaser of everything and a sacrificer of our children.
And Truitt is as bad as it gets. One big progressive con job. Nancy Anderson and Sloan Rachmuth have done an exemplary job in exposing her dangerous , anti-child, grooming schtick.
Catherine Truitt showed herself as a phony when she named a liberal Democrat as her chief Deputy. Conservatives do not do that, and even genuine Republicans do not do that. And a whole series of bad moves has followed. The recent firing of staff at the DPI-run Governors School for daring to speak out against the Marxist and divisive “Critical Race Theory” is just appalling. Catherine Truitt badly needs to be challenged in a primary and defeated. She is a total fake. Truitt is a flunky of the leftwing education establishment and needs to go.
No fan of Truitt, but AP does some great reporting. Little bit of a stretch citing one email that could easily be read as a reporter not wanting her work to be taken out of context by another conservative publication than doing PR work for Truitt. What else you got to support your thesis?
AP Dillon has also tried to diffuse any criticism of Truitt by complaining to national reporters. Here she is publicly stating she emailed Luke Rosiak about his story in which he mentioned Truitt refusing to discuss the problems with the Frank Porter Graham training in front of the board during a state board of education meeting: https://twitter.com/APDillon_/status/1481313324331671554
Dillon claims Truitt was powerless regarding the contract. Yet per the NC Constitution, it is the Supt who chooses the contracts to put in front of the board.
Apparently even national news reporters aren’t allowed to have their own opinions about elected republicans, as far as AP is concerned.
Ms. Truitt, whom I met on the campaign trail in 2020, certainly “talked” a good conservative game in her stump speeches. Sad that she’s opted not to govern like one. It’s also a shame we don’t have a mechanism in state law to recall her now instead of having to wait until 2024 to vote her out.
She flat-out deceived us. But I had her number early on and I proudly voted for Craig Horn.